Rutul people

Rutuls, Rutulians (Mykhabyr in Rutul, рутульцы in Russian) are an ethnic group in Dagestan (Russia) and some parts of Azerbaijan. According to the 2010 Russian Census, there were 35,240 Rutuls in Russia. In 1989 Soviet Census in Azerbaijan (Azerbaijan SSR then) there were 336 Rutuls. The Rutul language is a member of the Northeast Caucasian language family; its speakers often have a good command of Azeri and Russian, as Rutul was not a written language until 1990. The Rutul culture is close to that of the Tsakhur and other peoples who inhabit the basin of the upper reaches of the Samur River. Most of the Rutuls are engaged in cattle breeding (mostly sheep husbandry), farming, and gardening.